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The government is assessing the impact of a new generation of drugs that are claimed to make people more intelligent.

The Department of Health has asked the Academy of Medical Sciences to assess these so-called "cognition enhancing" drugs, some of which are already being widely used in the US. In the 1960s the self styled guru, Dr Timothy Leary, urged American youth to "tune in, turn on and drop out". Now a new generation of so-called designer drugs are becoming available. But instead of fuelling a new drop-out culture, they are being used by people who think they will help them do better at school and work. One of these drugs, Modafinil, was developed to treat people who involuntarily fall asleep.

Dramatic effect

Dr Danielle Turner, of the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at Cambridge University, tested the drug out on 60 healthy volunteers. It did not just keep them awake. She found that the effects on their brains were much more dramatic. "We tested them two hours after they had taken a single dose of Modafinil and found quite strong improvements in performance, particularly when things got difficult," she said. "That was interesting - as problems got harder, their performance seemed to improve. With Modafinil they seemed to think a bit longer and they were more accurate." Bjorn Stenger was one of the volunteers in Dr Turner's study. He told us how the drug affected him. "During the test I felt very alert and I could focus very well on the problems at hand. "I had no problems memorising rows of numbers. I felt pretty much that I was on top of my game."

Student use

Modafinil is in common use in the US, officially for treating sleeping disorders. But according to internet chat rooms, it is also widely used by students and busy professionals to give their brains a boost. The drug is among a new class of cognition enhancing drugs. Professor Gary Lynch, from the University of California, Irvine, helped invent another class called Ampakines. Professor Lynch designed them specifically to increase memory and cognition. And he claims that animal experiments suggest that the drug enables the brain to rewire itself or make neural connections between different regions that normally people cannot make. This rewiring, he claims, may enable people to "build thoughts that are a little bit beyond the normal brain". So what thoughts are these? "One would hope that what we are seeing with the Einsteins and Leonardos is that perhaps they are able to get into a space that we think of genius," he said. But is the public ready for "genius pills"?

Potential impact

The UK Government is sufficiently concerned about them to have asked an expert group to assess their impact on medicine and their potential social impact. The Academy of Medical Sciences expert group has held workshops across Britain to find out the public's views. It found some real concerns - quite apart from the long-term adverse health impact - these drugs could have. One woman commented: "If, in the future, there are cognition tablets for exams and I wasn't happy for my children to take them, would I be disadvantaging them against those children that actually take them?" Another comment was: "Who knows where we are going? In the future do you want one of those dictatorial type states where we have to take drugs to get better and faster to work longer hours? The Academy's report is due out later this year. It is to help government assess whether or not these new drugs could - or even should - be used to enhance people's abilities. Or do they pose a new and dangerous hazard to our society?

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It has to come back somehow, when in the 70ies the generation was able to do better with dexies et al. ... well it´s here to stay and it works, no doubt about it, so there´s no question people want to use it. One direction -> forward!

And most of the problems nowadays are that everyone is getting too lazy to challange themselves, the spirit is lost and those seeking it, are bad mouthed mobbed, titled as terrorists or called sick.amaiacs, while the industry makes money out of a billion
degenrative sicknesses, that come from the lazieness and gemuetlichkeit, besides everyone´s too stupid to move, eat and drink properly anymore)

So why not sanction food? Imagine the chemical holocaust, by rendering differnt plant and organic - living matter into your digestive system, casomorphines are being generated, taken up and numerous cascades of drugs are being released, when is this misery going to stop, who´s gonna save us and our children?

"Who knows where we are going? In the future do you want one of those dictatorial type states where we have to take drugs to get better and faster to work longer hours?

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What, as opposed to the current dictatorial governments who's laws state we are not aloud certain drugs. No, no, no do not encourage lateral thinking, that would make us realize that from the beginning of our education we are being geared towards becoming happy little worker drones for our governments. The only drug we are aloud is the one that dulls our thoughts and does not encourage any pondering about life, work and such. Alcohol just makes sure they are inebriated enough on their weekends off to not come to any conclusions as to how they are wasting their lives in what can easily be viewed as voluntary slavery. The effects soon wear off and the drone is none the wiser, he'll get back to work and do so happily, just waiting to go get smashed again.

I totally agree with SkyWalker the gov't wouldnt want us to think they would rather us not wonder.. they are scared of what could happen.. Think about this just the other day i was watchin discovery channel and they said if every1 in the world lived like an American we would need THREE planets.. thats sick man that basically states until we have enough resources to feed the entire planet like an american than we have to keep those other countries the way they are you dont think the gov't thinks about that shit?

What, as opposed to the current dictatorial governments who's laws state we are not aloud certain drugs. No, no, no do not encourage lateral thinking, that would make us realize that from the beginning of our education we are being geared towards becoming happy little worker drones for our governments. The only drug we are aloud is the one that dulls our thoughts and does not encourage any pondering about life, work and such. Alcohol just makes sure they are inebriated enough on their weekends off to not come to any conclusions as to how they are wasting their lives in what can easily be viewed as voluntary slavery. The effects soon wear off and the drone is none the wiser, he'll get back to work and do so happily, just waiting to go get smashed again.

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That's a good point actually Sky Walker. they don't want smart people, or free thought! Just dumbasses that put up with crap.

Imagine a drug that encouraged logical thinking and made people QUESTION authority

I suspect that drug would become class AAA more dangerous than heroin, lol.

The thing about logic is that... it's universal. You don't need experience to be logical, a child or a newbie can do it. You don't need popular support, any outcast can be logical. You don't need strength or a mansion or two SUV's to be logical. Those in power don't like this. If any child or unpopular but moral person can question all of those with all their power and popular support and might... and actually BE RIGHT whereas the big-wigs with all their years are wrong... its unsettling for them.

Thats why school doesn't teach logic, just tells you how to repeat facts. (that are often wrong, except in maths in which case they are usually useless facts)

class a does just fine for those mentioned effecting drugs... (what should class aaa be -execution right away within suspected contact with one of these drugs by the storm troops? *g*)

amphetaine being a so-so in the middle, like a straight-acting power (and sedating for the youngest of us) drug, close to the pure meaning of life but too fast to break through completely, if not done before by other means.

A. Huxeley, in fact, he makes quite a bit more sense in his forword of BNW than the history itself in some rarely occuring points, but doesn´t a good revolutionist should have some ppoints that you yourself should decide against, if you feel it to be rght for your live?

Imagine a drug that encouraged logical thinking and made people QUESTION authority

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SWIM finds that Cannabis, LSD, psycocibin, even food makes one question authority. For some it's a facilitator, for swim it's an amplifier of thoughts already in place, along with mental conditioning derived from meditation.